At 5:55 a.m. April
19, 1993 FBI driven tanks began their assault on the Branch Davidian home
and church Mount Carmel Center. Bradley vehicles driven by
FBI agents began delivering "liquid ferret tear gas rounds," i.e., gas
grenades, into the underground tornado shelter. FBI agents
alleged Davidians began firing on the tanks. FBI opted to speed up
delivery of gas and began launching first of 400 gas grenades into the
building. Over the next four hours tanks tore large holes in the building
and sprayed gas directly inside, smashed big holes in the front of the
building and tore down half the gymnasium.

11:30 a.m.--tank brings down, and drives
up on, the roof of the gymnasium.

11:40 a.m.--tanks smash into both the front
door and the middle front of the building.

12:06 p.m.--Tank rips away part of the
east front corner of exterior wall, ground floor level; boom smashes into
second floor. A few minutes later, from this section of the building,
fire is seen. Survivor Renos Avraam claims tank knocked down lantern
in second floor room above where tank ripped away wall and started a fire.
(Circled Number "1")12:07:41 p.m.--Infrared video indicates
first fire on second floor, east front. During this time survivor
David Thibodeau climbed up to the second floor above the chapel, by the
front hall way and saw a fireball rush down that hall way towards the tower
bedrooms and the stairwell down into the dining room.12:08:11 p.m.--Infrared photo shows large
fire already developed on dining room wall and tank sitting north of collapsed
gymnasium roof. News video shows tank west of dining room from which
smoke is seen billowing.12:08:17-22 p.m.--Infrared photograph
shows two large flashes in end of dog run.(Circled
Number "2") Survivor Derek Lovelock saw a fireball rush up from the
back of the gymnasium towards the chapel.

12:09:25 p.m.--Infrared photo shows second
floor front fire is well developed. Tank sits outside church area
throughout fire.12:09:45 p.m.--Chapel
fire first visible on infrared.

12:15 p.m.--Fire quickly engulfing the
building.

12:25 p.m.--Fire ball explodes as most
of building is in flames.

During the fire: three to five tanks rammed
away at the building, pushing incriminating evidence into the fire.

An un-named FBI agent to the left and chief negotiator
Byron Sage to the left pose for photographs as Mount Carmel burns in the
back ground.

Top Photo--As the result of the tank action, hundreds of pound of concrete
feel from the ceiling of the concrete room, killing three women and six
children before the fire from blunt trauma and suffocation.
(Though some suffocation may have been from the CS gas FBI pumped into
the room.) Also, note how the FBI dug out the guns and leaned them
against the wall for dramatic effect. One more example of their tampering
with evidence.

Bottom Photo--Soon after the fire the FBI had the concrete room and other
evidence destroyed.

For more information about the fire at Mount Carmel
in Chapter 10 of The Davidian Massacreclick
here.